Senior Social Worker Palliative Care

SA Health - Southern Adelaide Local Health Network; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 112,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary sacrifice benefits

Flexible working options

Job summary

SA Health - Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, Flinders Medical Centre, is seeking a Senior Social Worker embedded in Palliative Care. You will provide specialist psychosocial support to patients and families facing life-limiting illness, while mentoring staff within a multidisciplinary team.

Reporting to the Manager, you will develop, coordinate and evaluate social work services for the Palliative Care Service, with leadership responsibilities and a focus on person-centred care.

Qualifications

• Degree in Social Work with AASW membership.
• Clinical skills for complex needs in social work.
• Ability to analyze clinical care and contribute to quality activities.
• Experience with diverse clients and stakeholders.
• Experience in palliative/social care settings.
• Program evaluation and service development experience.

Responsibilities

• Assess clients’ abilities, problems and needs using formal and informal assessments.
• Design and implement evidence-based psychosocial interventions.
• Lead interdisciplinary planning to improve palliative care services.
• Document findings and interventions per service standards.
• Educate clients and families about functioning and management.
• Develop and oversee quality monitoring systems for services.
• Initiate and contribute to team education activities.

Skills

Social Work assessment

Therapeutic interventions

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Community engagement

Leadership

Mentoring

Education

Social Work degree

Job description

Shape Palliative Care Practice at Flinders Medical Centre | Senior Social Worker

• Southern Adelaide Local Health Network – Flinders Medical Centre– Palliative Care
• Salary $112,139 - $120,284 p.a. (Pro Rata) AHP3| Ongoing, Full-Time Position

This is a full-time ongoing Senior Social Worker position embedded within the Palliative Care service at Flinders Medical Centre, part of the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network. You will provide specialist psychosocial support to patients and families facing life-limiting illness, while also mentoring staff and contributing to a highly regarded multidisciplinary team. It is a role that calls for leadership, genuine clinical expertise, emotional maturity, and a commitment to person-centred care at its most meaningful.

About the role:

Reporting to the Manager, this role is responsible forthe development, implementation, coordination and evaluation of quality Social Work services for patients of the Palliative Care Service.

Duties for the role will include:

• Independently assess clients’ abilities, problems and needs using a variety of formal and informal assessments as needed,
• Designing and implementing evidence-based intervention programs tailored to diverse client populations,
• Drive interdisciplinary clinical and strategic planning initiatives to enhance the overall service provided to clients,
• Documenting assessment findings and interventions in accordance with service standards,
• Providing specialised client and family education about level of functioning and ongoing management,
• Developing, implementing and overseeing systems for monitoring, reviewing and improving the standards of services to clients in the Palliative Care programme and in other programmes as requested,
• Initiating, developing and contributing to educational activities within the team

About you:

• A degree or equivalent in Social Work, entitling membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers,
• Demonstrated high level competency and extensive knowledge in Social Work assessment and therapeutic interventions to clients with complex needs with a broad range of Senior Social Work clinical skills,
• Ability to critically analyse or evaluate issues related to clinical care in social work in a manner which can be applied to quality activities, service evaluation or research,
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective networks and partnerships with a broad range of culturally diverse clients and stakeholders, including patients and their families, community services / agencies and other service providers, within an interdisciplinary setting,
• Experience working in a community setting,
• Experience working in a palliative care setting,
• Experience in program evaluation, service development, combined with a broad base of experience in Senior Social Work practice

Please see the attached Role Description for additional information.

Application Closing Date:

11.55 pm Sunday 8 November 2026

• We also offer salary sacrifice benefits which provide the opportunity to save money by paying for some of your everyday expenses from your salary before it is taxed. Click here to find out more about salary packaging.
• The South Australian public sector promotes diversity and flexible ways of working including part-time. Applicants are encouraged to discuss the flexible working arrangements for this role.
• Appointment will be subject to a satisfactory Criminal History Check and Immunisation compliance as indicated on the Role description.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are encouraged to apply. Job ref: 953745